Category Archives: Courage of the Human Spirit

Does a Soul Choose …

A new life arrives . She is given away . Is the first experience of this life one of trauma ? Aside from the one of leaving a safe womb does the separation from her beginnings of life impact her sense of comfort and trust ?

She is born with a trusting heart no matter the circumstances . She loves deeply , so deeply that it surprises even her .

Welcomed into a home , into a family , that wants to be what it is not . There is love . There is love that battles within itself and with it’s own brokenness . Her love , in innocence , rises to the surface in moments of celebration . Like when she awakens first thing every morning , before opening her eyes , then is a joyous smile across her face. Did her soul choose to know the indescribable ache while also choosing to carry a joy filled heart and an ever replenishing trust ? The brokenness of the family integrated more trauma into her original wound and in quietness she finds a healer , herself . Did her soul choose ?

And in her quietness she sometimes dreams of knowing wholeness . Enchanted by the sight of the moon and the stars she finds a sense of rootedness in them . And when she is near water and it’s powerful timelessness then she feels held by the breath of all life past , present and future .

Water’s Edgde

Calls to the soul at waters edge ,

she welcomes what we are beyond our present knowing .

Calls to what we know as wildness is freedom in the space of grace .

Calm and reflective waters flow and all the while wild winds blow .

And in this moment of aloneness is the timeless connection to all life .

Calls from the heart, songs in the soul and hymns from the sea are in harmony .

And in every breath carried to the stars are dreams of love for evermore .

Giving Birth to a New USA

On the very day that we laid to rest one of our  greatest human rights leaders of our time this :

I am a mom to a compassionate ,  intelligent young woman .  Her kind and giving heart stands up for injustices against those with less privilege  . People  that suffer because of having  less privileges  and opportunities  simply because of the color of their skin .  I am of the same heart  and mind as my daughter .  Since early in my youth I have felt the call to stand up for human rights , protesting peacefully , writing  letters to legislators , volunteering  and …listening .  And today my daughter faced the ugliness of hatred  because  of her values and principles   . She has Black Lives Matter written on the  back window of her car . She has other pro human rights sentiments  on her window as well .

Today , of all days ,  someone  chose to threaten her life because of it . A man chose to follow her off of a freeway exit , he sped up along side of her and turned  his vehicle inwards towards  her car  as if to ram her and to force her off of the road .  A life threatening action that could  have been catastrophe with   irreversible results .  And all because he did not like her opinions . He violently opposed her  values . His risked her  life as well the lives of others by his actions .

Here we are America . Threatening each other  over human rights . Over what it means to be considered a human being .  Wiling to end another persons life because she or he stands up for social justice .  It’s time to give birth to a new USA .

The process is painful .  My hope is that what is taking place now with the violence against peaceful protests and individuals  is like the birthing process .  It is  a struggle . It is painful and it is violent . And at the other side of it a more just , equitable  and compassionate country .

The people fighting against the changes have caught the disease of hatred and fear . Desperation  has taken hold of them .  They are entangled within their own chains . How might we set them free from the hate ?

In the darkness of such hate we must be the light .  Carry a peaceful heart and in the words of Mr.Lewis ” make  good trouble ” .

 

 

The Man in the Tower Hiding

A comet soaring through the sky  wishing  away worries from the earth below .

It’s only for  moment .

Fires of the quest for justice burn ….and burn .

And those few that are untouched and are  so far away from the pain just scold .

And blame .

The man in the tower hiding  the darkness behind false  whiteness   steals souls and

glows red .

And tosses raw flesh to his spectators .

Unrealized is the relentless power of the will to do right . It won’t stop .

The birth of reawakening in the heart and spirit of  warriors  in our streets come

together as one .

This battle is not done .

 

Above the Gases

How to see through the smoke ?

Soldiers in streets uninvited ,  The people rising . Higher  than gases .

Division , is it’s fate to become unified ?

Human history as a recipe repeated .

We will take back our sovereignty .

 

Stamina 2020

Stamina called forward and on some days it barely stays . It does stay though and thankfully so .  Choose to do a new action when it seems as if it might  slip away and entice it to return . Deep sigh I can go on now with stamina by by side .

Purpose in each day is a search and rescue mission now .  There are days when it appears with grace and ease and oh what a delight That is . And then the days  arrive that attempt to steal  the joy with the murmurings  of  lack and questions of now what ?

Gratitude has grown because it’s heard more easily now in the quieter days  and nights of a society partly in mourning  . The voice of a loved one might visit  uplifting  the spirit like a bountiful , beautiful garden .  It’s the magnificent single moments that linger in the heart. Thankfully the smiles can still be felt and the kindness of stamina remains .

 

Oh Dear World , I Miss you

How does the adventurer’s  soul  and spontaneous spirit strive to survive  now ?   Wings feeling clipped .  The physical freedom to roam that used to bring the spontaneous  wanderings of the mind and soul now halted .   How to replenish and refresh perspectives while staring at the same walls ?

There is a requirement for rest in order to turn around the stress and yet ….the mind is thinking , thinking , thinking . “What’s next ?”

Longing for the days of preparing for a trip . Being ready for the airport or a long road trip . The joy , the excitement  of embracing the unknown as much as the known . Feeling safe in the idea that any detours or unforeseen  threats would be visible and therefore manageable on any trip . Now it’s invisible and could threaten your life .

The aloneness of  solitary travels can set you on course for recognizing  love in the connections to all life forces .  It can teach you who you are and return you to the precious threads of human connection .

When you step off of an airplane onto unfamiliar ground are you calmed by the new?   And excited to begin anew ?

Oh Dear World ,  I miss you now during Covid 19 .  The images on a screen  bring little solace because I know you all are struggling too . Our sight will surely be altered by this time of loss and distress .  It is an opportunity  beyond the anguish .

Will we rise ?

Tears are Not Enough . Period .

Born white and free

and

in ways i did not see .

Until I became a latch key child  .

As I grew I rebelled against the white cocoon

and paid a price for it .

Not as dear  though as the price paid by African Americans

to simply live .

Or rather …not to live .

What good are my tears for you ? I must use my voice and body to join with yours .

Lead me through this battle with you

and

lets make lasting change .